What we believe is not always true.
I was reminded of this very recently on a train, on the way back from London to Cornwall.
A buffet cart made its way through the carriage, and not being able to resist a coffee, I ordered one. The staff member put a coffee bag in my cup and poured in the hot water before replacing the lid. She placed it on the tray in front of me, with the empty coffee bag, telling me I could put the used coffee bag back in it.
An hour later, she came around again. I ordered another coffee and she did the same. The coffee bag went into the cup, and in went the hot water, the lid was replaced and she once more put it on the tray in front of me, with the empty coffee bag.
An hour and a half later, the carriage had pretty much emptied and I was feeling very tired and a little cold. I saw the buffet cart coming through again, this time with a different staff member.
As she approached, I ordered another coffee. (I would never usually have 3 coffees in a day let alone an evening but finding the journey tedious after a busy day, I gave into temptation).
She put my drink on the tray, with the coffee bag packet as the other lady had done before.
Appreciating the warmth of the cup against my palms, I sat back to relax and drank the drink. Twenty minutes later, feeling a bit bored, I picked up the coffee bag packet and began to twiddle it in my fingers. As I did, I noticed that the packet felt a little heavy, and examining it I noticed that it had not been opened.
Very confused, I wondered if the staff member had given me an extra coffee bag. Surely not?
Trying to make sense of the situation, I lifted the lid from my empty coffee cup. I gasped in disbelief. All that remained in the bottom of the cup were a few drops of crystal clear water. Surely I hadn’t drunk a whole cup of water, believing it was coffee?
It appeared so.
It was probably a good job that the carriage was near enough empty because my shock became vocal as I exclaimed “unbelievable” rather loudly as I tried to process what had happened.
This experience is a perfect example of how substantially our beliefs affect us. What we believe to be true, we experience.
Having believed that there was coffee in my cup, I tasted coffee in the cup. Not once did I even think that it tasted any different!
Similarly, if we believe that we are not good enough, or not enough to be loved, we don’t see anything different. We look for evidence to prove ourselves to be correct. What we look for we find.
What we fail to see, however, is other evidence because we don’t believe it exists. (Just like I didn’t look for the coffee bag in the packet, because I didn’t believe it was in there).
Having limiting beliefs about ourselves, may limit our lives. The options available to you are limited, because of the way that you think. The way to overcome these beliefs is to start to look for other evidence, to disprove what you think.
Ask yourself, “What evidence may there be to prove that I am enough to be loved?” Or “What evidence may there be to prove that I am enough?”
As I said, what we look for we find. If you look, you will see.
Our limiting beliefs are simply stories that we made up ‘once upon a time’ to help us make sense of ourselves and the world. These beliefs are often installed in childhood, when lacking information, we do the best we can to interpret life, ourselves, and our experiences.
Something we get it wrong.
If you change your story (belief) you will change your life.
Are you ready to change yours?
